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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23463157">Darkly Dawns The Duck</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katherine_Vanderquack/pseuds/Katherine_Vanderquack'>Katherine_Vanderquack</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Darkwing Duck - Freeform, Darkwing meets Gosalyn, I tagged characters that just pass through, There’s a happy ending, ducktales - Freeform, there is some sad Gosalyn at one point</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 15:55:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,628</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23463157</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katherine_Vanderquack/pseuds/Katherine_Vanderquack</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>One possibility of how Gosalyn and Drake will meet. It’s mostly based off of the original Darkwing Duck pilot. Takes place in the Ducktales 2017 universe.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Darkwing Duck had been stalking the rooftops of St. Canard for weeks but he still couldn’t seem to get his big break as a superhero. It wasn’t that he couldn’t find any crime- a city like St. Canard was full of it- it was that everytime he actually did something right nobody noticed. At most he was the fine print at the bottom of a Quakfeed article about the week’s events. Even then they would spell his name wrong. It’s two words. Darkwing. Duck. This shouldn’t be so hard, people! It’s ridiculous! This is supposed to be the age of the internet! Yet they only noticed him if he made a mistake. I don’t put all of the effort into scheduling my life around this, making a secret identity, and ironing my cape every night for nobody to notice me! Darkwing would always think. This was irritatingly like before his first big acting job. <br/>Darkwing drove the Ratcatcher in another loop around the still town. Launchpad did a great job at building the replica. It looked and worked just like the one in the original show. Which was great because he had already memorized all of the original’s controls years ago. Darkwing wanted to do some stunts for the fun of it and was about to test out a new feature when something caught his eye.<br/> There was something very large flying in the distance. Darkwing took off in the direction of whatever it was. As he got closer he noticed something strange- the thing was a vulture, and it was carrying a suitcase. Suddenly something popped into Darkwing’s head. He had heard that the crime boss Taurus Bulba had a pet vulture that he would send out to run errands. But he was supposed to be in prison for life… unless he is still operating his crime ring from his jail cell! It would fit with what Darkwing has heard about Bulba.<br/> Darkwing was soon almost directly under the bird and could now see what it was headed for. There was a guarded train that the vulture was clearly flying to. Darkwing sped up the Ratcatcher and quickly caught up with the train. He entered the boxcar behind the one surrounded by guards to avoid suspicion. Of course that didn’t work out the way he planned it. (Nothing ever seemed to.) The dog who was sorting through the mail in the car was surprised to see someone in a mask and a cape enter while the train was still moving.<br/> “Please don’t hurt me! There isn’t money in here!” he said in a panicked tone.<br/> “What?” Darkwing said, confused. “I don’t want any money! I’m Darkwing Duck!” This response didn’t seem to calm the dog’s nerves. “I was just going to keep an eye on the car in front of this one! I’m a superhero!” Drake said, heading towards the door.<br/> “No you can’t go there! It’s top secret!” The dog said.<br/> “No worries sir, Darkwing Duck is here and he won’t let anything bad happen!” Darkwing said as he opened the train door near where the guards were. A maniacal grin slowly creeped across the guards faces. It occurred to Darkwing a minute too late that he just announced his existence to the enemy. He dropped a smoke bomb to distract them and for once something went according to plan. Darkwing easily sunk behind them while they waited for the smoke to clear.<br/> “I am the terror that flaps in the night!” The guards jumped at the sound of an echoing voice behind them. “I am the homework you forget until Monday morning! I am Darkwing Duck!” he exclaimed, posing just like the original Darkwing did.<br/> The guards whirled around and Darkwing punched their faces as soon as he saw the whites of their eyes, knocking them out. He opened the door and looked inside the train car. There was a large machine and nothing else.<br/> It had a large screen and an array of colorful buttons and knobs. He stepped closer and noticed writing on the side The Waddlemeyer Ramrod. Darkwing muttered it to himself a couple of times trying to figure out what it was. He made a mental note to look it up later, but until then he would just protect this device- whatever it was. <br/>Unfortunately after a couple of minutes the ceiling flew off into the sky. A ram jumped in and immediately spotted Darkwing. He leaned over, aiming his horns at Darkwing and ran forward. Of course now Darkwing noticed he had backed into a corner while inspecting the machine. Bulba’s assistant slammed into Darkwing so hard the wall behind them broke. The ram collided with him again, this time pushing the Duck off the train. Darkwing’s beak hit the dirt and he heard the train chugging into the distance.<br/> He stood up and looked back at the train as the Ramrod was lifted off the train and into the cloudy sky by some sort of airplane. Darkwing headed back in the direction of where he parked the Ratcatcher. The Waddlemeyer Ramrod The Waddlemeyer Ramrod he thought over and over again, determined not to forget it. If he couldn’t stop them from stealing it, he wouldn’t let them get a chance to use it.<br/> Darkwing arrived at his apartment just as the sun started to rise. He hurried up the fire escape and snuck through the window. As soon as he stepped inside he changed out of the costume and into a simple flannel shirt. He didn’t want anyone to see Darkwing Duck walking around Drake Mallard’s apartment and get suspicious. Drake Mallard definitely didn’t have anything to do with Darkwing Duck. Not at all.<br/> Drake walked over to his laptop to research the machine he had seen. He typed Waddlemeyer Ramrod into the computer and a bunch of news articles came up. Drake clicked on the top link. Professor Waddlemeyer (61) was found dead in his home this morning by an unknown cause. Many tragedies have befallen the Waddlemeyer family in the past decade. He was preceded in death by his wife (52), his son (28), and his daughter in-law (27). His only living relative is his granddaughter Gosalyn Waddlemeyer (9). The cause of death is presumed to be natural causes. He was best known for his many inventions. He was the mind behind dozens of well known inventions. His most recent device, The Waddlemeyer Ramrod, is being sent to the Duckburg Science Center until scientists know how to operate it. The Ramrod is a tachyon-specific device that disrupts gravitational bonds on a molecular level which allows manipulation on a macro scale. The Waddlemeyer Ramrod will be sent to the science center at the start of next month. The article was followed by a picture of the Inventor standing by the Ramrod. Drake checked the date. The article was from three weeks ago.<br/> Something told Drake to research the nine year old girl. He searched Gosalyn Mallard and found an adoption website. At the top of the webpage was a picture of a red headed duckling with brown feathers. She wore a dark green hoodie over a purple shirt and black leggings. Her curly hair was held back in a messy ponytail. Drake scanned the article and saw that she was at the St. Canard Orphanage on third street. If I found this much out with a five minute search Bulba must know about her. From what I’ve heard, Bulba doesn’t seem like the type to leave loose ends. Drake thought. He sighed before changing back into the costume complete with a purple mask. Darkwing left his apartment and headed for the orphanage.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gosalyn hated when it rained. Nobody ever wanted to play anything outside with her when it was raining, and there are indoor games, but then something will end up broken and Gosalyn will get in trouble. Again. Also she would usually get stuck inside all day and would get yelled at for something or other. The other reason she didn’t like the rain is that it often went hand in hand with bad things. It rained when her parents died, it rained at her grandpa’s funeral, and it rained when she found out that she was going to live in an orphanage. She knew that wasn't always how it worked, but that was how it felt.<br/> Gosalyn’s life had turned upside down three weeks ago. She went from living with her grandfather in a nice house just outside of St. Canard, to being a lonely orphan living in a cramped orphanage with a couple dozen other kids. She hoped that today the rain was just a coincidence. Gosalyn wasn’t sure if she could take any more bad news.<br/> She tried to put a smiling face on as much as possible but she wasn’t really over the death of her grandpa. She felt like she should have gotten over it by now- there were kids here who had it much worse- but it had just been the two of them together for the past few years. She was surprised when the orphanage director- Mrs. Smith- said she had a visitor.<br/> “What?” Gosalyn said.<br/> “You have a visitor, he says that he was a friend of your grandfather.” Mrs. Smith repeated.<br/> Gosalyn had no clue who it could be but longed to have someone to talk to about her grandfather. They headed for Mrs. Smith’s office at the start of the hall. As soon as they stepped into the room Gosalyn got a bad feeling in her stomach. She didn’t recognize the ram that sat across the room. He was about a foot taller than Mrs. Smith; in other words he was around average height. The ram was wearing a black and white striped suit and had tan fur.<br/> “Gosalyn, you’ve grown so much since I last saw you! It’s been so long I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t remember me. I was your grandpa’s best friend.” the ram said with clearly fake enthusiasm.<br/> Then why haven’t you seen him in years? Gosalyn thought but didn’t let herself say. Gosalyn glanced up and saw that Mrs. Smith clearly was falling for this. The ram pulled a picture out of his pocket. The picture was of her and her grandpa and there was a brown smudge on the side, awkwardly three quarters of the way across the picture.<br/> “That’s me.” he said pointing at the smear.<br/> “It looks like a peanut butter stain to me.” Gosalyn said.<br/> “Why don’t you go on a little walk around the yard and catch up?” Mrs. Smith said obliviously.<br/> Gosalyn looked out the window and saw that the rain had stopped. She didn’t know what to do. Should she play dumb? Confront the man? Gosalyn ended up staying quiet and letting him lead her outside. The asphalt was blacker than usual, wet from the rain and the sky was still grey. The air was cool and brisk. Gosalyn zipped up her hoodie. She wandered over to where the sport supplies were kept. Since there was a storm that morning, nobody was playing outside. All of the best supplies were sitting out. It was always great when she got to use the ball that was actually full.<br/> “Do you want to play?” he asked awkwardly.<br/> “Sure” Gosalyn replied. She normally wouldn’t have said yes in this scenario but this wasn’t what she would have thought of as normal.<br/> They walked over and Gosalyn picked up a basketball and dropped it. It bounced back up higher than she expected and almost hit her bill. She silently started dribbling it and threw it to the hoop. It went through the net and the ram caught it. They casually continued playing, but it was clear that neither of them really cared about the game. They exchanged some small talk but it felt forced; like talking to a distant family member you’ve never met before. The ram abruptly said “You must miss your grandfather.”<br/> Gosalyn hesitated for a second before saying “I guess, I know it’s been a few weeks and I should probably feel better by now but I-“ Gosalyn was cut off as the man jumped towards her. He grabbed her and held her arms to her side as he sprinted off the orphanage grounds. She couldn’t believe she had let her guard down, even for a second. Gosalyn managed to kick him hard enough for his grip to loosen. She took the opportunity and managed to get out of his arms and jumped to the ground. She kicked him between the legs. As soon as he crouched over in pain she took off running.<br/> Gosalyn looked around and realized that she was running away from the orphanage. She turned around and saw the three men in the same suit the ram was wearing running at her. Ok so not going back to the orphanage right now. Gosalyn though as she turned and continued to run away. She didn’t get far before somebody pulled up on a motorcycle. He was a tall duck with white feathers. He was wearing a purple shirt, hat, mask, and cape. He turned to look at Gosalyn and said “Gosalyn Waddlemeyer? I’m Darkwing Duck, you might want to come with me.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Darkwing had been on his way to the orphanage when he saw the red headed duckling running towards as fast as she could. He recognized her from the website, she was a little older and taller but her face and hair were pretty much the same. Darkwing pulled the Ratcatcher over.<br/> “Gosalyn Waddlemeyer? I’m Darkwing Duck, you might want to come with me.” Darkwing said. The girl gave him a skeptical look but when she heard the men getting closer she seemed to decide to get to the point.<br/> “How do I know you’re not helping them?” she asked.<br/> “For one thing if I was I wouldn't be trying to convince you peacefully.” he said.<br/> The three men chasing her were getting uncomfortably close to being within arms reach. Gosalyn looked behind her and her eyes widened as she jumped into the sidecar. Darkwing sped off just in the nick of time as the men reached out to grab Gosalyn.<br/> As he rode away, he realized that one arm was extended in front of her. It was weird, but when he looked at Gosalyn it was like all he wanted to do was to protect her. She had gone through so much already and for some reason Darkwing felt a responsibility to take care of her.<br/> He drove the Ratcatcher through the streets on his way to the police station when he turned a corner and saw about a dozen people holding guns. Darkwing recognized most of them as wanted criminals. Guess the police station isn’t an option. Darkwing thought.<br/> “Get down!” he yelled at Gosalyn as he turned around the motorcycle. Bullets whirled by him but he turned a corner and was somehow unscathed. Darkwing heard engines starting behind him and pressed harder on the gas pedal.<br/> “Darkwing!” the girl said, sounding worried. He looked back at her and she pointed behind them where the attackers were getting closer.<br/> “Hold on tight kid!” Darkwing said. He scanned the street ahead of him. Darkwing flipped a small red switch and the Ratcatcher swerved off the road. It zoomed up a wheelchair path on a nearby fire escape. The motorcycle bounced from rooftop to rooftop eventually stopping on an apartment building. More specifically Darkwing’s apartment building. He turned to Gosalyn to check that she was okay.<br/> “Keen Gear!” she said in awe. What? Darkwing thought. Kids say really weird things nowadays.<br/> “You should stay with me until they get caught.” Darkwing said, hoping she wouldn’t argue.<br/> “Is this where you live?” Gosalyn asked.<br/> “Not on the roof, but yes in this building. Do you want to see my apartment?” he said. It was a rhetorical question -she would be going there anyway- but he thought she might like to think she had a say in it.<br/> “Sure!” Gosalyn replied. He led her down a couple flights of stairs, and by ‘led her down’ he meant that she hopped down every other stair in front of him. Once they got to his level he set a hand on her shoulder and said<br/> “This one’s mine.” Darkwing walked and Gosalyn bounced down the hall. At the third to last door Darkwing stopped and so did Gosalyn. A few seconds later she said <br/>“Wait, you’re the guy from that weird superhero movie aren't you!”<br/> “Well… sort of. It’s a long story.” Darkwing said as he took out his keys and unlocked the door to his small apartment.<br/> “Why does a superhero who had a movie made for him live in a normal apartment? What’s this? Why do you have so much of your own merch?” Gosalyn asked questions a mile a minute as she rushed around exploring every corner of the apartment.<br/> “It’s not really my memorabilia.” Darkwing said. “Well, it kind of is, but not technically.” Gosalyn sat down on the chair near him and looked at him, eyes asking for an explanation.<br/> “When I was a little kid there was a TV show called Darkwing Duck.” Darkwing began “I was it’s biggest fan. The main character was a superhero who wouldn’t let anyone keep him from getting back up when he was pushed down. A couple of months ago the show was going to get remade as a movie. I was hired to play Darkwing. There was an accident while filming and the movie was canceled. After that my friend convinced me to become Darkwing in real life. I’ve been helping St. Canard since then.” he finished. “I’m going to call that friend now, he’s a lot less awkward around kids then me.”<br/> “You’re not going to leave, are you?” there was a weird tone in her voice. It was slightly panicky but she was clearly trying to hide it. <br/>“Of course not.” Darkwing said quickly. “If he can come, it’ll be the three of us all day. Otherwise you and I will hang out until Bulba’s search for you dies down.” <br/>“Bulba?”<br/>“Taurus Bulba; he tried to steal your grandfather’s invention.” Gosalyn’s face dropped at the mention of her grandfather.<br/> “What does the Waddlemeyer Ramrod do anyways?” Darkwing asked, trying to change the subject.<br/>“It makes things float.” she said. “But why did he come after me?”<br/>Darkwing had to think for a minute before saying “He probably thinks you know how to activate it.”<br/>“I don’t know how it works!” Gosalyn said.<br/>“I believe you, but he probably won’t.” Darkwing replied. “Now I’m going to call my friend and see if he can come over.”<br/>One phone call later Launchpad was on his way and had been warned to only call Drake by his superhero name. <br/>They spent the rest of the day playing games with her. That night Launchpad got Hamburger Hippos for the three of them. They watched some of his old Darkwing Duck tapes and Gosalyn fell in love with the show. An hour or so later Launchpad left to go home and Darkwing made Gosalyn go to bed. She complained a little, but eventually gave in. He only had one bed in his apartment so Gosalyn slept in his room. She seemed to be hesitant about something but he didn’t push her to tell him what it was. After he made sure she was settled in he turned to leave. Gosalyn said “Wait! Um… could you maybe sing me a lullaby?” She asked her question so hesitantly that Darkwing knew saying no would break her heart.<br/> “Sure. Any requests?” he asked. <br/> “There is one… my grandpa used to sing it to me.” Gosalyn said quietly. <br/>“Why don’t you sing it to me and I’ll sing it back?” he suggested.<br/> “Okay” she said before taking a breath and singing<br/> “Close your eyes, little girl blue, Inside of you lies a rainbow. Yellow, blue, red blue, purple too, blue, purple and green, then the yellow.”<br/> It wasn’t much on lyrics, so Darkwing took some creative liberties when he sang it back. “Rest your head, little girl blue, come paint your dreams on your pillow. I'll be near to chase away fear, so sleep now and dream 'til tomorrow, I'll be near to chase away fear, so sleep now and dream 'til tomorrow.” he sang before leaving.<br/> “Thank you.” Gosalyn whispered as she fell asleep.<br/> Darkwing quietly closed the door. He sighed and knew that he would hate sending her back to the orphanage the next day. All of a sudden there was a bright flash of light, then it disappeared. Then there was another that lingered for a minute before disappearing again. At first I seemed like lightning, but there was no thunder. <br/> He pulled out an old Junior Woodchuck guidebook of his and flipped to the Morse Code translation page. Wrote down the pattern and translated it. - - - . -. - .. --- -. -.-.-- / .- .-.. .-.. / ... - .-.-.- / -.-. .- -. .- .-. -.. / -.-. .. - .. --.. . -. ... -.-.-- / .. --..-- / - .- ..- .-. ..- ... / -... ..- .-.. -... .- / .... .- ...- . / . ... -.-. .- .--. . -.. / .--. .-. .. ... --- -. / .- -. -.. / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / --- -. .-.. -.-- / ... ..- .-. .-. . -. -.. . .-. / - --- / - .... . / --- -. . / .- -. -.. / --- -. .-.. -.-- “Darkwing Duck” he said the last two words aloud in astonishment. He finished translating and after it began to repeat he grabbed his gas gun and began to reload it.<br/> “What’s going on?” Gosalyn asked, still sounding half asleep.<br/> “Taurus Bulba is messaging the city that he’s going to surrender to me!” Drake said confidently. Gosalyn didn’t react how he expected at all.<br/> “You’re not going right? It has to be a trap! Why would he surrender as soon as he escapes jail?” she said.<br/> “I’m the one here with experience around super villains.” he snapped back.<br/> “But it makes no sense!” Gosalyn said.<br/> “They usually don’t think things through very well.” he said.<br/> “Relax, I’ll be fine. He’ll be in jail again by tomorrow.” Darkwing left before she could say anything back to him.<br/> He drove the Ratcatcher to the building Bulba was going to meet him, but the whole way Gosalyn’s words kept repeating in his head. She was probably right, but Darkwing wasn’t going to just turn around and tell her that. He decided to hide a block away and see what happens after calling Launchpad for emergency backup if needed. Darkwing peeked over and saw ten of Bulba’s henchmen. He waited for a while and eventually they started to leave. Darkwing stepped back into the shadows to keep from being seen by them as they left. Luckily he was still close enough to hear them talking.<br/> “I can’t believe he didn’t fall for it. I thought an idiot like him would come running.”<br/> “I know right? Good thing we got the kid anyway, Bulba would be furious if he didn’t get Waddlemeyer’s granddaughter.”<br/> Gosalyn was right! I shouldn’t have left her alone! I’m such an idiot! Darkwing thought. He followed the group from a distance until they stepped inside a tall building. He could see from here that there was something or someone on the roof. Darkwing drove the Ratcatcher up the fire escape of a nearby building and jumped from roof to roof until he was on the building the henchmen had entered. He hid the motorcycle in a crate he was hiding behind so it wouldn’t get in the way. Darkwing watched Bulba yelling at Gosalyn, probably wanting to know how to activate the machine. Now would be as good a time as any for a dramatic entrance.<br/> “I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am the virus that cancels everything you were excited about! I am… Darkwing Duck!” he said as he jumped out from his hiding spot. <br/>“Nice of you to finally show up.” Bulba said. He snapped his fingers and twenty something people surrounded Darkwing.<br/> I should have thought this through better. He thought. Darkwing pulled out his gas gun and hoped they would think it’s real. The group stepped back a little, but Bulba pulled out a gun of his own. His gun definitely wasn’t full of smoke bombs.<br/> He aimed at Darkwing “Do you remember the activation code now?” he asked Gosalyn.<br/>“I’ve never known the code and I won’t suddenly know it because you threaten people. I can’t activate it for you, nobody can.” she replied. <br/> “We’ll see about that.” Bulba said before pulling the trigger. Darkwing dove out of the way in time, but it must not have been obvious because Gosalyn screamed “Darkwing!” <br/> He ran over to her and said “I’m okay Gosalyn.” As he gave her a tight hug. As he did so her eyes grew and she tried to back away. She was trying to tell him something with her eyes but he didn’t know what. “You were right, I should have listened to you earlier.” he said as he tried to give her another hug. She backed away, gesturing behind Darkwing. He turned around to see a grin spreading across Bulba’s face. “It seems that you have become very close to her today. She won’t tell me the code, but maybe she told it to you.” he said. “Maybe I was going about this the wrong way.” The vulture swooped down from the sky and picked up Gosalyn. It held her high in the air above the street. Darkwing’s heart pounded in his chest. That’s what she meant. He thought.<br/> “Now let’s try this again. What’s the activation code?” Bulba sneered.<br/> “I don’t know the code.” Darkwing replied, trying to keep his voice steady. “Even if I did you’d probably kill us anyway.”<br/> “Do you really want to risk that?” Bulba asked. <br/> “I don’t know anything about how that thing works.” Darkwing said.<br/> Bulba shrugged as he flicked his hand through the air and the bird let go. Gosalyn fell through the air screaming.<br/> “Okay! Okay! I’ll tell you!” Darkwing said urgently.<br/> The bird swooped down and caught her a few feet above the cement. He heard her mutter something as she was flown back into the sky but didn’t hear what it was. <br/>“Give me the code or next time my friend might not be fast enough to save her.” Bulba said.<br/> He hoped he was right, there was no backup plan. Darkwing walked over to the Ramrod and his eyes scanned across the machine confirming his theory. There were a variety of multicolored buttons in a row. Red, yellow, blue, green, and purple. He pressed the button as he sang the song in his head. Yellow, blue, red, blue, purple two, blue, purple, green, yellow. As he hit the last button the machine began to hum. A grin spread across Bulba’s face.<br/> “Now let Gosalyn go.” Darkwing said.<br/> “Gladly.” Bulba replied with a smirk.<br/> He waved at the hawk who released its grip on Gosalyn, who plummeted screaming to the ground. Suddenly the screaming stopped and Darkwing froze. A few seconds later he saw a very familiar plane, piloted by Launchpad, with Gosalyn sitting in the front seat.<br/> Darkwing looked at the Ramrod and then at Launchpad and Gosalyn. He could run to them and escape, but Bulba would still have the Waddlemeyer Ramrod and would definitely come after them. He could try to fight them but what if they got to Gosalyn again? He couldn’t put her through anything else. What could he do?<br/> An image flashed through his mind. It was a small red button on the side of the machine with two words. The first one was shorter than the second. He strained his memory until he was sure what it said. Self Destruct. There was a clap of thunder as the idea hit him. It was the only option.<br/> Darkwing ran over to the edge of the roof and Launchpad said “DW! Do you have a plan?”<br/> “Yeah… but I don’t want them to get to you while I’m- fighting” Darkwing knew that if he told what he was really planning, they’d never let him go through with it. “Go over by that tower until… until I use the green smoke bomb. Then come back and pick me up.” It hurt Darkwing so much to lie to them.<br/> “Got it! We’ll come back when we see the green gas!” Gosalyn said.<br/> It was hard not to wince at how confidently she said that knowing that it was a lie. <br/>“Bye.” Darkwing fought to keep his voice steady. He wanted a better goodbye, but he couldn’t let them know that he wasn’t planning on getting to talk to them again.<br/> He ran back into the fight and made his way toward the Ramrod, making sure that he didn’t use his green gas. Bulba seemed to figure out where Darkwing was headed. Luckily Darkwing got there first and found the button. He pushed it in as Bulba made it over. The Waddlemeyer Ramrod began to shake. He screamed out in anger. The henchmen knew something was wrong and scrambled away. Darkwing just stood there and whispered two words seconds before bright lights and heat surrounded him. “I’m sorry.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gosalyn sat in the plane, scanning the distant rooftop for any sign of green smoke when it happened. She couldn’t see what had led up to it, she was too far away and the rain was heavy, but suddenly there was a huge flash. It was followed by an ear shattering boom. Gosalyn felt her heart start racing. She glanced over at Launchpad and they made eye contact for a second. They simultaneously decided what to do, without having to say a word.<br/> Gosalyn looked forward again as Launchpad piloted the plane towards the flames. Half of the building was destroyed and what was left of it was in flames. The rain didn’t appear to be helping. The black smoke seemed to become thicker by the second. Once they were closer Launchpad opened the windshield of the plane so the water droplets wouldn’t keep them from seeing anything. The flames were bright orange and were so bright that it almost hurt Gosalyn’s eyes. The smoke smelled horrible and stuck in her throat. Gosalyn could feel the air get warmer as she got closer to the fire. Launchpad pulled out a box from under the control panel. He pulled out a stick of gum. Seriously? This isn’t the time for gum!  Gosalyn thought. Then she saw what the box said, Oxy Chew. Launchpad handed her the box and Gosalyn took a piece. They were unwrapped and as soon as it touched her tongue she couldn’t taste the smoke anymore. All she tasted was the gum, but she could tell that the air was cleaner now.<br/> They flew in circles calling out for Darkwing and looking for any sign of purple but there was nothing but flames and rubble as far as she could see. Every minute or so she called out for Darkwing, but there was never any response. They continued like this for what seemed like hours. Even as the fire died down from the rain and the news helicopters came and went they kept looking. Even once the heat from the fire was gone the air felt freezing cold. She didn’t say anything to Launchpad about it. They kept searching for any sign of Darkwing until the moon was almost directly above the Thunderquack.<br/> That was when Launchpad unexpectedly closed the windshield. Gosalyn looked at him with confusion, but he just looked away. Launchpad turned the plane around and started flying away from St. Canard. She screamed and kicked the whole flight. He can’t do this! I want to help! He can’t give up so soon! Gosalyn thought but she was too upset to get any real words out other than “No!” Her throat was already sore but she kept shouting.<br/> After what felt like an eternity Gosalyn could feel the plane going down. After a minute the plane was still. Somehow she heard Launchpad approaching over her screams and dry sobs. He gently sat his hand on Gosalyn’s shoulder and she collapsed into tears. She couldn’t take all of this. Her grandpa dying, then living in the orphanage, and now having the only other person who cared about her die too. Gosalyn felt Launchpad's arms wrap around her. He picked her up and carried her somewhere.<br/> She didn’t bother trying to see where she was. It didn’t matter to her anymore. Gosalyn heard the door open and felt the rain falling on her skin. She buried her face in Launchpad's chest. It didn’t make much of a difference, she was already soaking wet, but she curled up anyways.<br/> She heard a woman- probably British- say questioningly “Launchpad? Wh-” but her words were cut off.<br/> Gosalyn could tell that they were soon inside somewhere because suddenly the rain was no longer falling on her back and the air had changed from the bitter cold to a nice, comforting warm. Or it would have been comforting if she hadn’t just gone on an emotional roller coaster that just featured a seemingly unending drop. After a minute of Launchpad carrying her, she was set down on the softest bed she had ever felt. She heard him leave the room and she curled up into a little ball.<br/> Gosalyn pulled her knees against her face. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and looked to see two adult ducks. One was a girl and one was a boy but they looked very similar and might be the same age. The woman was wearing a brown shirt, a blue scarf, and a dark headband. The man wore a black shirt and a white and black hat.<br/> “It’s okay, it’s okay.” the woman said. It was followed by a horrible squawking noise from the man. The woman seemed to understand what he said and she smiled a little at Gosalyn’s confused face.<br/> “My brother said ‘I’m Donald, what’s your name?’” she said.<br/> “I’m Gosalyn'' she said quietly between sobs.<br/> “I’m Della. Is there anything we can get for you?” Della said. Gosalyn just shrugged, she wasn’t even sure if they could tell because she was shaking so much.<br/> Della looked at Donald who slipped out the door. Della tried to confront Gosalyn, but it was a lost cause. She didn’t stop crying until she fell asleep. She would have stayed up all night crying too, but Donald insisted that she should take a sleeping pill. Normally she wouldn’t take anything a stranger gave her, but at this point she was too emotionally exhausted to care. She cried until the pill kicked in and she drifted into a dreamless sleep.<br/>The moment Gosalyn woke up she knew something was wrong. Her bed was too soft and too comfortable to be her bed in the orphanage. The room she was in looked like a nice but generic hotel room. Then everything from the day before hit her. Gosalyn blinked tears out of her eyes and crawled out of bed.<br/> She opened the door that she found against the opposite wall and looked down a simple hallway. There were a few plants and tables, but not much else. The lights were on despite it being… well whatever time it was. Gosalyn wasn’t sure. She gently pushed on each door and if it opened she peeked in.<br/> Eventually Gosalyn found a bathroom and stepped in. She got herself a glass of water and looked into the mirror. Gosalyn’s hair was a mess- well, more of a mess than usual- and there was a bruise appearing on her eye. It wasn’t that noticeable, yet. She splashed some water on her face and left the room. Gosalyn hadn’t been paying much attention earlier, so now she had no idea where to go.<br/> Gosalyn stepped around a corner and collided with another kid. His hair was swept up above his face. He was about her height with white feathers, a blue shirt, and a red and yellow scarf. They both kept their balance, but the boy dropped what he had been carrying.<br/> “I’m sorry!” Gosalyn said.<br/> She started to pick up what she now saw were large plastic bowls when he said “Who are you?”<br/> “I’m-” Gosalyn started. She then realized that maybe when a supervillain who wanted to kill you still might have henchmen out there, maybe going around telling random people who you are isn’t the best idea. “ Why should I tell you? And who are you?”<br/> “I asked you first!” the boy said, his tone sounding like a little kid.<br/> “Fine.” she sighed. Just the first name can’t hurt, right? Gosalyn thought. “I’m Gosalyn.”<br/> “Why are you in my house?” he asked.<br/> “I don’t know, this is just where Launchpad brought me.” she said honestly.<br/> “Oh right! Mrs. Beakley did say something about you and Launchpad.” Gosalyn didn’t know who Mrs. Beakley was and she didn’t really care.<br/> The boy had stopped asking questions and now it was her turn. “So who are you?” Gosalyn asked while handing him two bowls.<br/> “I’m Dewey. How do you know Launchpad again?” he replied.<br/> Here we go. Gosalyn thought. She really didn’t want to think about the reason she was here.<br/> “Long story. Is that a Gryffindor scarf?” she asked quickly, trying to change the topic. <br/>“Yeah! We’re having a Harry Potter marathon. Wanna come?” he asked.<br/> “Sure!” Gosalyn replied, not even bothering to ask who ‘we’ was. She was happy for a distraction and loved Harry Potter.<br/> “I have to grab some more popcorn for everyone first.” Dewey said, gesturing down the hallway.<br/>“Bet I’ll get there first!” Gosalyn said as she started to sprint in the direction he mentioned. He was faster than she expected, but she still had to stop and let him catch up so she would know where to go. <br/> “I win!” Dewey shouted.<br/> “But I was faster!” Gosalyn said.<br/> “Then why was I the first one here?” he taunted.<br/> “Because I didn’t know where I was going!” she answered.<br/> “Let’s just call it a tie.” Dewey said.<br/> “Fine. But I want a rematch sometime.” Gosalyn replied.<br/> “Deal.” Dewey said as he opened a cupboard and pulled out a bag of popcorn kernels. He threw lots of it in a big pot along with some oil on the stove.<br/> “That’s a lot of popcorn.” Gosalyn said.<br/> “Well we need enough for five people.” he replied.<br/> Five? “Who else is here?” she asked.<br/> “Webby and my brothers Huey and Louie are watching the movies upstairs. I think the adults are out doing something tonight so we have the house to ourselves. Other than Duckworth” he replied.<br/> “Who’s Duckworth?” Gosalyn asked, trying to keep the conversation from turning back to her.<br/> “He’s Uncle Scrooge’s ghost butler.” Dewey said as if it was the most normal thing ever.<br/> “Wait- Uncle Scrooge? Like the billionaire? And did you say ghost butler?” Gosalyn asked.<br/> “Yeah! I didn’t even know I was related to him until about two years ago.” he said. <br/> “How did that happen?” Gosalyn asked.<br/> Dewey gave her a summary of everything while they made popcorn. He finished as they were walking back to where the other kids were watching the movies. Gosalyn was helping him carry the bowls.<br/> Dewey stopped at a door and said “You should probably set those down for a minute.” Gosalyn did and was confused until he opened the door. She got a glimpse of three ducks around her age before being tackled to the ground.<br/> “Who are you? Why are you here?” shouted the girl who tackled her.<br/> “Webby it’s fine!” Dewey said. “She’s Launchpad’s friend. Gosalyn.”<br/> “Oh, sorry!” the girl said, immediately jumping back and helping Gosalyn up. “I’m Webby!” she said.<br/> “Hi,” Gosalyn replied, taken aback by Webby’s complete turn around. She picked up the popcorn and walked in. The room had a large tv and a red couch. The couch was covered in Hogwarts house themed blankets and pillows. There were also two other ducks in the room. They looked a lot like Dewey but had a different hair style. Huey and Louie, Dewey had told her about them. After a minute or two of Dewey bickering with Louie about how the movie hadn’t been paused they all settled in on the couch to watch the movie.<br/>The movie marathon was fun, even though Gosalyn spent most of the time trying not to think about what just happened. Surprisingly none of the death scenes in the battle of Hogwarts affected her very much. It was probably because she knew they were coming, and -above all else- all the characters were just characters. They weren’t real. Not like… No, Gosalyn wouldn’t let herself think about that.<br/> Instead she started paying more attention to the other kids. Louie got super into the romantic plot lines, Dewey loved the action scenes, Huey seemed to be memorizing every detail of the universe, and Webby was doing all of the above. Every couple of minutes Huey would mention an inconsistency the movies had with the books. Hallway through Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald Della stepped in saying “Hey kids we’re back!” before leaving to go who knows where in the mansion.<br/> When they finished the most recent movie they went to the boy’s room to put away the pillows. On the way they ran into a tall woman in a purple sweater. “Hi Granny!” Webby said. Granny- this must be Mrs. Beakley. Gosalyn thought.<br/> “Hello. May I speak to Gosalyn for a minute?” she said. Webby shrugged and she and the boys ran off. Mrs. Beakley then told Gosalyn about how she wouldn’t have to worry about Taurus Bulba anyone and that unfortunately she would have to go back to an orphanage. Gosalyn went to say bye to the kids and promised to meet up soon before leaving. <br/> She would not be sent back to the old orphanage because she was- almost- kidnapped so easily that they decided to hire a new person to replace Mrs. Smith; hopefully someone less gullible. Gosalyn would be sent to a foster home until she was adopted.<br/> The next few weeks added up to be one of the most unique times of her life. Time didn’t seem to inch by or speed away like it usually did. It just passed. That being said, looking back on those weeks it would feel like everything blurred together. Gosalyn didn’t have anything to separate one day from another. She didn’t go back to school. It was close to break and she couldn’t spend five minutes without crying at first. Gosalyn spent her first few days crying for hours. The foster mom knew that she needed to let her emotions out so she let Gosalyn cry as much as she needed. As time went on Gosalyn started filling her days with mindless hobbies or anything that could distract her from her own thoughts. She couldn’t hide from herself forever though. Every night before her sleeping pills kicked in she would lay in bed and hate herself.<br/>If it weren’t for you he would still be alive.<br/>This is all your fault.<br/>Why do you make everyone around you miserable?<br/>Occasionally she would try to fight those thoughts.<br/>That’s not true!<br/>But it never helped.<br/>It is true. If you didn’t let yourself get kidnapped he wouldn’t have sacrificed himself. You’ve seen how everyone acts around you. They wouldn’t even care about your existence if you weren’t weighing them down all the time. Nobody will ever want you. The only people who did are dead because of you.<br/>Then the thoughts would slow down as the pill kicked in and Gosalyn fell asleep. Despite hating the act of falling asleep, she did like the hours of the night she was asleep. She didn’t have to purposefully distract herself. She could just exist without sadness, without guilt, without what her entire life seemed to consist of now. The sleeping pills gave her a mostly dreamless sleep, but when she did have dreams more often than not she woke up quietly crying.<br/> People came who saw her on the news and adoption agency’s list, but she never talked to them. She just gave some excuse on why she couldn’t every time they came over, and eventually they stopped coming for her. A while after the ‘potential parents’ stopped trying to meet her Gosalyn was surprised to hear her foster mom say “Gosalyn could you come out here please? There is a man here who is interested in adopting you.”<br/>“I don’t feel well.” Gosalyn replied emotionlessly.<br/>“Okay, try to feel better soon.” she said with a sigh.<br/>Gosalyn heard her walk away and say “I’m sorry Mr. Mallard. Gosalyn isn’t feeling well today.”<br/>“That’s okay.” said a familiar voice. “I can come back another time.” It couldn’t be him… could it? Gosalyn peeked her head out of her room and saw a familiar figure. The man was wearing a simple shirt nothing like what Gosalyn had last seen him in. He also had a couple of casts and bandages, one of which was signed in big block letters by Launchpad. Gosalyn jumped out of the doorway and ran over to him. “You’re okay!” she said as she wrapped her arms around him in a huge hug. <br/>“Not so tight Gos” he said and she loosened her grip just enough to not be pushing on any casts.<br/>“I thought-” Gosalyn started before Darkwing cut her off.<br/>“I’m fine, or I will be once they take off these casts.”<br/>Gosalyn’s foster mom was surprised after seeing such a difference in Gosalyn’s mood. She left the pair to talk (checking in often to make sure nothing was wrong) and soon Drake started the adoption process. It took a while but Gosalyn didn’t care. She was going to live with Darkwing Duck! Everything would work out.</p>
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